Some 1,300 years ago, Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) left Chang’an (present-day Xi’an in Shanxi Province) to marry Songtsan Gambo, king of the Tubo kingdom, which was located about 3,000 km to the west. This pioneered amicable relations between the Tang and the Tubo, and the story of the marriage is still much talked about in areas inhabited by the Han and Tibetan peoples.

In the early 7th century, Songtsan Gambo gained control of the highland area in the west. Out of his admiration for the Tang culture, Songtsan Gambo sent an envoy to Chang’an in AD 64 to convey his wishes for good relations with Tang and to ask for the hand of a Tang princess. Tang Emperor Taizong answered with a counteroffer, at which Wencheng was agreed to marry the Tubo king. Accompanied by the Tubo minister, Princess Wencheng set out for the far away Kingdom. The marriage bound together Tang and Tubo as “one family”. This segment of history was later turned into tales which remain an important part of Tibetan folklore.

When the couple moved to Yushu (in present Qinghai Province), they were much taken with the local landscapes and pleasant weather, and spent one month in a mountain valley for their honeymoon. While making efforts to propagate Buddhism and pray for blessings for the Tibetans, Princess Wencheng taught them how to grow crops and vegetables. Maize, potatoes, soybeans and rape proved adaptable to the highland environment, while wheat mutated into highland barley known in Tibetan as Qingke. Princess Wencheng also brought into the Tubo Kingdom carriages, horses, donkeys and camels, as well as medical works and various kinds of farming and industrial techniques. Under her direction, the Tubo Kingdom experienced fast social progress.

Songtsan Gambo loved Princess Wencheng so much that he had the Potala Palace built for his talented and beautiful wife. To this day, people still pay homage to the royal couple before their statues enshrined in the Potala Palace in Lhasa.